Is Ryoma Worthy of Sakuno?
by PoTfeverinfected
Summary: RyoSaku. Sakuno outgrows her crush. Soon she finds another prince – one who wants to cherish her as his princess. On the other hand, Ryoma's love for her blossoms and becomes deeper. Will the original prince relinquish the right he presumes he has? How will he win her hand?


**DISCLAIMER : PoT does not belong to me. Nor do these wonderful mesmerizing characters that belong to the genius Takeshi Konomi.**

**However I do own this plot...**

**It'll be RyoSaku by the last chapter...**

**Hope you enjoy! **

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**CHAPTER 1**

**Realisation and Lists**

It first struck her during the lunch break when she was hitting the ball against the wall.

She had been doing a good job. She hadn't missed over 20 shots and they were all in the same region. With practice she would soon be able to narrow it down to a spot. All was well until she heard the familiar insolent voice which never failed to fluster her say, "Bend your knees and cut your hair." As usual she was overcome with self-consciousness and missed the next shot. "A-ano Ry-Ryoma-kun." She was nearly reduced to tears when she heard an irritated sigh and a 'mada mada dane' growing faint as Ryoma Echizen walked away.

She bit her lips as she tried to contain her tears. She wondered about how weirdly she behaved whenever he was present. Of course she knew she had a crush on him. What she didn't understand was why it made her…weaker. Wasn't love, even if unrequited, supposed to make you stronger and better?

As the bell rang she brushed these thoughts away and rushed to class. After school Tomoka pulled her towards the tennis courts screaming or rather stating in her naturally loud voice, "C'mon Sakuno! Let's go and cheer Ryoma-sama!" Sakuno did something uncharacteristic. Her voice though gentle was firm when she said, "Tomo-chan, it's just practice. I have a lot to do. I'm going home." Tomoka was shocked and looked slightly offended. Sakuno immediately felt guilt gnawing at her. She nearly apologised and agreed to accompany her friend when her inner voice told her 'It's my choice. I don't have to do something I don't want to.' Instead she smiled and said, "Gomen Tomo-chan. I'm sure you'll cheer on my behalf too, won't you?" Tomoka looked ecstatic and exclaimed, "Of course Sakuno! I'm the president of Ryoma's fanclub after all! See you tomorrow!" Sakuno chuckled mildly and walked out of the Seigaku premises. However, instead of heading home she went to the park in her neighbourhood. And she sat on one of the benches, took out a fresh piece of paper and began to make…lists!

**What I like about Ryoma**

1. He plays amazing tennis – he represents our grade

2. He looks very good

3. He's confident

4. He's good at academics too, especially English

5. …?

_'Mou, I can't come up with more than four. And when I think about it… he is the son of Nanjiro Echizen. He's been playing tennis for as long as he can remember. Even others like Tezuka-sempai play wonderfully. That too without being arrogant about it. _

_Ryoma really looks good but surely I am not so shallow as to stutter merely because of that! I even interviewed Atobe-san without a hitch and his looks are otherworldly! Also I didn't behave this way when I first saw him and gave him those wrong directions. _

_He's confident but even I am unless it's with him. He also provokes people too much._

_Anyone would be good at English if they were born and brought up in America! And in the other subjects even I am among one of the best. So that's no reason to look upto him._

_None of this justifies why I feel so much more inferior when I'm around him. I try hard, cook well and reasonably proficient at whatever I do. His talents belong to him. Being smitten by his talents is not going to help me improve mine. Infact it is hindering my improvement. I embarrass myself whenever he teaches me and I don't even absorb what he's telling! My cheeks get warm for no reason whatsoever. Even Tomo-chan has a crush over him but she doesn't let it affect her so deeply. Maybe it's because our characters are different.'_

**Instances of Getting snubbed**

1. He didn't notice me on the train and furthermore he was pretty rude even though I was apologetic. And he asked me to get off the court when I hurried to ask him if he was alright.

2. He didn't recognise me the next day in school.

3. He said 'mada mada dane' when I cooked him lunch instead of being thankful

At this point she stopped writing. '_I can't blame him for whatever happened. I just shows that he doesn't give me any importance. Just because I like him, I can't expect him to behave differently towards me. And he does tolerate me although that's probably because obaa-san is his coach.'_

She discontinued the present list although several other instances like the day they went to get her racket restrung sprang to her mind. She made a new one

**What I don't like about Ryoma**

1. His arrogance and sadistic nature

Once more she stopped writing. This time with a horrified expression on her face. 'I_ can't believe I wrote something bad about the person I had idolised with my whole heart._' She froze. '_Did I just think in the past tense?_' She pursed her lips. So that's why she had been thinking this way the whole day. She had outgrown her crush.

She smiled happily as she felt she had changed for the better. She still admired him of course. But she wasn't blinded by her childish infatuation. She could actually think _dissaprovingly_ as she recalled the incident when Ryoma had come in late for the match and Horio had been impersonating him against a senior who demanded to be shown the 'twist serve'.

She could now understand what Shiba-san meant by cheering for the player even if he didn't acknowledge it. She would be able to do it too as she would now be rooting for the players of her school and not anyone individually. She would continue watching the matches with the same degree of interest but because of the thrill and display of skills than because of her one-sided attachment. It seemed so stupid in retrospect. She was sure she would not stammer or blush around the prince next time.

Sakuno tore the lists into small bits and threw them into the trash can. She walked towards her home with a gentle smile playing on her lips as her pigtails swished from side to side.

Suddenly she stopped dead in her tracks, her face wiped clean of the smile as it grew paler by the moment.

She slapped her forehead as she screamed at herself mentally, "_HOW CAN YOU LOSE YOUR WAY WHILE GOING HOME?!"_

.

.

.

Little did she know that she was to find a new prince – one who would cherish her as his princess. But will the original prince relinquish the right he presumes he has? How will he react to her changed attitude? Only time will tell

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**The next chapter will be about Sakuno meeting the boy who'll be my OC. It'll also have an episode of Ryoma's jealousy.**

**Please read and REVIEW. Plot suggestions are welcome. Please tell me if you found Sakuno was a bit OOC. **

**The story is about Ryoma ****_making_**** Sakuno fall in love with the real him. Sorry for the Ryoma bashing - In the forthcoming chapters he'll explain his actions to Sakuno who has mistaken them.**

**I'll incorporate your suggestions and try to update soon!:)**


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